July News
What have we been up to this month:
Well, after a herculean effort of planning and then the actual execution, Rosie managed to up sticks, move, reinstate and continue operations over the road in the main building at the Bank of England Sports Complex. She even managed to restore the squash courts to their best ever condition! Extremely well done to all involved in the move – all done with no loss of supply to those in need – we still made sure care packages went out as did our scrubs and accessories.
Rosie and Lucy are now firmly established over the road. Electricians have been installing lighting over the machines and cutting table which was desperately needed, and the space seems to be working out well. They also filled in a hole in the floor with concrete to avoid volunteers falling in up top their middle. For all those who haven’t visited recently, go in through the back entrance to the main building, through the brown double doors, along the corridor and Lucy is at the end. Please sign in as usual in the book outside in the corridor.
Although national restrictions have been relaxed, at the Scrubbery we ask that you still wear a mask when collecting or delivering and observe social distancing as before. The Delta variant is extremely contagious, and we don’t wish to endanger any of our volunteers.
The A team of volunteers and Rosie have been frantically sewing hats for St George’s Hospital – they wanted 1000 – so well done Pam, Hilary, Lucy R., Carol and Rosie for that! It might amuse you to know that the hats are extra large to contain lockdown hair, men and women. The hats are made from offcuts and new cloth as well as upcycled bedlinen. Each hat will last for at least 52 wash cycles, which means that we are saving 52,000 disposable hats from going into landfill as well as all the materials saved.
Lucy, Milka and Raphael working on hats for St George's.
We finished and delivered a large order of rainbow scrubs for Queen Mary’s Hospital vaccination centre, on top of all the wellbeing bags coming off the inhouse production line. Sterling work everyone, especially under the trying circumstance of the move, and the often overzealous security for the qualifiers, making access very difficult indeed for all.
Staff at Queen Mary Vaccination Centre really pleased with our latest delivery of scrubs which get snapped up as soon as they arrive. The rainbow scrubs really help morale with staff and public alike.
News
Subject: Research on PPE and voluntary action:
Rosie reached out to an organisation called Practical Wisdom about sharing information on collaborations and volunteering during the pandemic. This contact led to them coming back to her and asking for support in terms of filling in a research questionnaire. The details are attached if anyone would like to contribute, please do so through the link. We encourage everyone who has been involved in any voluntary work through the Scrubbery during the pandemic to visit their site and fill in the questions so that they get the broadest range of responses.
Recognition for Rosie and the commitment she has made :
Points of Light Award – Rosie was selected and honoured with this award in June. The awards come from the Prime Minister and the Cabinet office, and Fleur Anderson endorsed the award. Very well deserved indeed, but for those who don’t know much about it here is a quick outline :
UK Points of Light
Points of Light are outstanding individual volunteers – people who are making a change in their community. Every week day the Prime Minister recognises an inspirational volunteer with the Daily Point of Light award.
First established by President George H. W. Bush in 1990, over 6,000 US Points of Light have been recognised in the USA. UK Points of Light was developed in partnership with the US programme and launched in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street in April 2014.
Since then hundreds of people have been named Points of Light by the Prime Minister, highlighting an enormous array of innovative and inspirational volunteering across the length and breadth of Britain.
Doing everything from tackling knife crime, to supporting families of dementia patients, our UK Points of Light are fundraising, awareness raising, problem solving heroes who all had an idea they decided to make a reality. Their actions have changed lives and their stories can inspire thousands more to get involved or start their own initiatives.
So, on behalf of Rosie, please accept credit and thanks for all that you have contributed. We can all be really proud of what we have achieved and glad that the Scrubbery is getting recognition it deserves in important places.
Donations / Thank you’s – there are always so many generous organisations and people to mention:
We have continued to collect, fill and supply wellbeing bags to several hospitals, and judging by the feedback they are being very well received.
Here is some sample feedback:
Dear Scrubbery team
First of all let me thank you all so much for such an amazing gesture, all of you are amazing.
When I opened the pack I was lost for words. I read the cards and it brought tears to my eyes, and made me feel really that there are people in the world somewhere who doesn’t even know us, but care about us and want to reach out to us in simple ways like these to show their support for our profession. A pay rise or a pat on the back is not always that makes a difference, kind words and words of appreciation are better than anything.
I read the cards to my family and showed them that a lot of people support our care and that has made me enjoy my job even more and I would like to thank you all again for such a beautiful gesture.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Waleed Muhammad
Consultant | Ambulatory Care Unit | Barts Health NHS Trust | Newham University Hospital |
Thank you to James Wright for collecting 5 giant rolls of fabric from Downview Prison to save it from being incinerated.
Thank you and farewell to many of the kind staff at the Bank of England sports ground, who are leaving the site at the end of the month. We will miss them as Rosie says, “for so many months it was just me, the badgers, squirrels, magpies and two security guards in the whole complex”. We have appreciated their support and cheerful backing of the Scrubbery.
Thanks also to the indefatigable Lettie for compiling this newsletter each month.
Finally, a massive thank you to Matt Price, who, in between Wimbledon Tennis and flying out to Japan for the Olympics and Paralympics, managed to sort out further lighting for Rosie.
“We still urgently need people to sew wellbeing bags and scrubs – so if you are available or know anyone who could help out, please get in touch with Lucy Hawes.”